


Leisure

by zulu



Category: E.R.
Genre: F/F, F/M, Female Protagonist, Multi, Threesome - F/F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-22
Updated: 2010-10-22
Packaged: 2017-10-13 12:45:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/137506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zulu/pseuds/zulu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I'm...involved with someone."  "It's not a problem.  Bring her along."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Leisure

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tellitslant](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=tellitslant).



"Do you know what she said?" Doug grinned from the door of the drug lock up, looking exactly like a little boy entrusted with a secret that was burning its way out.

Carol slammed the cupboard in front of her shut, her arms full of boxes of gloves. They were always running out of gloves and nobody ever replaced the empty boxes. "When you were flirting with her over a four-year-old's inguinal hernia?" she asked.

Doug pouted as she pushed past him into the hall. "No, when I told her I was--" They passed Yosh, and Doug leaned close and lowered his voice to that rough low tone that Carol alternately dreamed about and wanted to stuff a sock into. "-- _involved_ with someone."

Carol whirled on him, one box of extra-large gloves going flying. Doug caught it in one hand and dropped it neatly back on the pile in her arms. "Doug, you didn't--"

Doug could always look disgustingly innocent when he wanted to. "I didn't tell her who." He followed her to Trauma One, a frown starting on his face. "Please don't tell me you think I was flirting back."

"No," Carol said grudgingly. "You weren't flirting back." A traitorous part of her wanted to point out that even Doug Ross wasn't stupid enough to flirt with another woman while she was standing two feet away in the same room. And even when he'd been concentrating on the patient, answering Dr. Corday with monosyllables, it had still _felt_ like he was flirting back. Corday had been _acting_ like he was flirting back, as if he was topping her every suggestion with a line of his own.

"So..." Doug grabbed her elbow and glanced around before ducking with her into Curtain Two.

"So what?"

"So do you want to know what she said?" Doug widened his eyes.

Carol sighed in annoyance. "I can't think of anything much worse than that 'Virgil to your Dante' line." With a grimace, she tried to imagine anybody falling for that. What did it even mean? Something about circles of hell, but Carol seemed to be the only one stuck there.

"She _said_ I should bring her along."

"That was obvious." God, why was Doug torturing her? If he was smart, he'd drop it instead of rubbing it in. She knew she wasn't the only woman who'd ever fallen for him. She definitely knew she wasn't the only woman he'd ever wanted, too.

Doug rolled his eyes. "No, not her--you."

"Me?"

"I said, I'm involved with someone, and she said, _I should bring her along_."

Carol blinked. "What? She--"

"That didn't mean what I thought it meant, did it?" Doug raised his eyebrows, holding her by both elbows now. Maybe he really was that shaken by what Corday had said.

"No." Incredulous, Carol drew out the word. Doug's eyes were dancing with amusement. Oh, God. This was going to make him even more insufferable. He already thought he was irresistible. Carol shook her head. "It couldn't have."

Doug shrugged, and laughed softly. "Either she was just being friendly, or she was being even more friendly than I thought."

* * *

The last thing Carol wanted to be was the jealous bitch, but she was human, for God's sake. She'd never felt so invisible as when Corday was flirting with Doug, right in front of her. Everything she'd said to Doug that moment about the excitement of a secret romance came back to bite her right in the ass. Corday had sounded so damn... _confident_. It had been disgusting, really, how obvious she'd been. And Carol hated nothing more than being treated like she didn't exist because she was a nurse. Corday had acted like fetching an ice bag might be a test of her skills. She'd treated her like a gofer instead of a person with feelings--feelings about _professionalism_. About not trying to get into another doctor's pants in front of a patient. Even if the patient was four.

But-- _bring her along_. Doug had to be pulling her leg. God, it would be just like him. Pretend that Corday wanted some kind of threeway, as if that would get him out of the doghouse for the way he'd...

Carol stopped and closed her eyes before shaking her head. Doug hadn't done anything. She didn't even know what she wanted him to have done. Or not done. He hadn't been flirting, she knew that. But Corday hadn't been taking no for an answer. With her accent, and her smoothness, why wouldn't Doug give in? He had before.

If it was a prank, Doug would have given in and laughed at her by now and moved on. Or he would have gotten Mark in on it--everybody in the ER would be making little remarks about menageries or...whatever. Threesomes. If that was even what Corday had meant, which it probably wasn't. Who propositioned someone for a threeway in the middle of a procedure?

Well, Corday hadn't exactly been holding anything _else_ back.

God. How was she still thinking about this? It was ridiculous. Carol went into the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. There was no way she could still have whatever Dr. Corday had said or hadn't said to Doug on her mind. She didn't. It was a joke, if not on Carol, then on Doug. Corday had been teasing him, that had to be it.

Carol went through three patients, one with a suppurating abscess, one with explosive diarrhea, one with stomach flu, and realized after she'd had to change her scrubs twice that she hadn't even noticed. Well, nobody noticed bodily fluids after a while in the ER. But there was usually at least a moment of _Oh, God, my shoes_. Instead, Carol found herself in a starchy, not-quite-fitting pair of scrubs with the awful salmon colour that absolutely washed out her complexion--and she hadn't had time for a full makeup job this morning, and _why was she thinking about this_?--when she realized her mind was still stuck on it.

 _Bring her along._

It wasn't easy to corner a surgical resident the way it was to grab hold of a certain ER pediatrics fellow and drag him into whatever room was free enough for a private conversation. Or whatever passed for private in the ER. Corday came downstairs when she was paged for consults. She stabilized patients and then she was gone again, rolled gurneys onto the elevator with a surgeon's gleeful look on her face. The worse the trauma, the more excited she got.

Near the end of her shift, though, Carol saw Corday heading into the lounge. Absently, she passed off the chart she was holding to Chuny. "I'll be right back," she said. She ducked into the lounge, feeling like a spy, or a stalker. Thank God there was nobody else in the lounge; she was sure she wouldn't have been able to come up with an excuse to be there.

"My apologies," Elizabeth said, when she turned and saw her. "I hoped the coffee was for anyone. I've been on my feet since five..."

"No, it's--no problem," Carol said. The coffee was awful but it kept people going, and that was for the best. "It's...something else. Can I--can we talk for a second?"

Elizabeth looked surprised, but she nodded, pouring milk into her cup. "You have as long as I do," she said. In a conspiratorial whisper, she added, "If I get another case in the next five minutes, I could be here all night. Much as I'd love another surgery..."

"No, of course," Carol said. "It's just something you said to Doug today. Dr. Ross," she tacked on, and winced. Nobody would notice for a second that she called him Doug, but even one _Dr. Ross_ and half the staff would be inventing a fight while the other half bet on some sort of creepy dominatrix situation. One thing Carol could count on, they wouldn't land on the truth when exaggerations would do.

"Hm?" Elizabeth took a deep sip of the coffee. "This morning? Oh, dear. I didn't make you uncomfortable, did I? I confess, Americans are far more, well--conservative, about these things. We never hid who we fancied at my hospital. It could be a bit of a mess, really, but--"

"It's not that." So Corday had _fancied_ Doug. And thought he was hers for the taking, apparently. That dash of jealousy finally pushed Carol past her tied tongue. "He told you he was with somebody, and--" God, the whole mysterious affair was unravelling faster than the plots in those bad romance novels ever did. "It's me," she said, certain that she sounded like a bumbling idiot. A bumbling, conservative, American idiot who didn't drop threeways into conversations at the drop of a hat. "Who he's with. And--" Before Corday could take that the wrong way, Carol plunged ahead. "He said you wanted to bring me along."

Elizabeth's eyes widened, and she cupped her coffee mug close to her mouth as if it could hide her astonishment. "I had no idea," she said. "I haven't managed to bollix things up between you, have I?"

"No." She hadn't, really. Carol let out a breath. How could Corday have known? She wasn't going to push things once Doug had said no. And Carol trusted Doug. Mostly. "Of course not. I just--Doug wondered if you were serious."

Corday smiled slowly and put the mug of coffee down on the counter. "Ah."

"Ah?" Carol echoed. Serious, serious idiot. She looked over her shoulder, but miraculously, it seemed that they weren't about to be interrupted by someone completely oblivious walking in. That couldn't last, and Carol didn't know if she wanted to be rescued by an interruption or not.

"Dr. Ross is very handsome," Corday said, and Carol found herself nodding in agreement before she could raise her defenses again. "But he's hardly the only attractive person in this hospital."

Carol's face was definitely burning now. She'd found the lines intolerable when Corday was directing them at Doug, but somehow they felt smooth and...dammit, and seductive, when they were clearly aimed at her. "Did you mean it?" she asked, embarrassment making the question sharp. "The way it sounded?"

Corday stepped forward and took Carol's hand between both of hers. She was slightly taller, and her smile was far too knowing to really be that attractive. Not that Carol was attracted. "Would you like to show me the sights?" she asked. "I haven't seen nearly enough."

Completely despite herself, Carol burst out into giggles. There was no way Corday could possibly mean Chicago with a tone like that in her voice. "The sights of Doug Ross?" she asked.

Corday's eyes gleamed, and her smile turned positively naughty. There was no way Carol should be thinking words like 'naughty' about anyone other than Doug. About a _woman_. But it was the only word that fit. She could almost hear it, in Corday's gentle, refined voice. "As you say," Corday said. "If you'd be willing to show me around, I think you and I could have a very good time." She raised her eyebrows, and stepped back. "Mind you, I wouldn't want to get in the way."

"No, of course not," Carol said. "I'll...meet you after work. With Doug."

* * *

"You said _what_?"

"I said we'd meet her for drinks." Carol grabbed Doug's arm in both of hers and leaned her head against his shoulder. "She's new in town," she protested Doug's disbelieving silence.

"Right," Doug said. "And this morning had nothing to do with this."

"Elizabeth was right," Carol said.

"Elizabeth?" Doug said, amazement colouring his voice. "Even I don't call her Elizabeth."

"I think you can now," Carol said. "Since we're taking her out for drinks." They were past the ambulance bay, where they might be seen by hospital staff. Elizabeth was waiting on the corner across from Doc Magoo's, and she waved when she saw them coming, a delighted smile spreading across her face.

"Listen," Doug said as they approached her. "I don't know what Carol's been telling you, but..."

"Oh, nothing nearly as salacious as I'd like," Elizabeth interrupted. With a smile at Carol, she took Doug's other arm. Carol could feel him shifting uncomfortably, and she laughed. Half the fun was shocking the hell out of Doug Ross. "Tell me, is this the first time you've..."

"The first time I've been shanghaied by two--" Doug caught himself at the last moment and finished with heavy irony. "Two such lovely ladies?"

"I'll take that as a no," Elizabeth said. "Carol?"

"No." Carol laughed at the very idea. "Nope, I am...definitely a first-timer."

"Lovely," Elizabeth said. "I can't say that I've had the pleasure myself, but it can hardly be much different with three, can it? In fact, I suspect it will be that much better..."

* * *

It was the weirdest first date Carol had ever been on. Elizabeth sat across from them and kept refilling Carol's glass from the pitcher of mojitos she'd ordered. Whenever Doug's beer was down to the foam, Elizabeth would wave their waitress over and order another. "Don't dream of saying no," she said. "I'm still enchanted with servers who come to your table."

It only took a few drinks before Carol was giggling at everything, no matter how funny it was. Doug was quieter, but he was smiling, and his hand on her thigh under the table wasn't exactly slowing things down. Elizabeth asked them about Chicago, and America, and got lost in her own explanations about England and her family after she'd finished her third mojito.

"God, I miss so much!" she said. "But this is where I want to be." She smiled brilliantly at them, and Carol smiled back, impulsively reaching across the table to take Elizabeth's hand. Her skin was so warm, and her eyes sparkled with mischief as she squeezed Carol's hand back.

This really couldn't be happening. Doug looked just as incredulous as Carol felt, but he was following her lead. For one drunken moment, Carol wondered if this could be the answer to the nagging jealousy she sometimes felt over him. But no, she wouldn't feel nearly this comfortable if it was anyone other than Elizabeth. She was watching Carol as much as she watched Doug, and her jokes and innuendo were directed at both of them. When they finally got up from their table to settle up, she put a lot more than her third on the bill. "Allow me," she said. "It's been such a lovely evening."

Outside, the city was sharply cold, and Doug, who'd kept himself back to three beers despite Elizabeth's offers, turned on the heaters as soon as they got in the car. "So," he said, in his amused voice, "where can I take you?"

"Take all of us," Elizabeth said. "I certainly hope _that_ hasn't changed." She was in the backseat and seemed as comfortable there as if Doug was her own personal driver. "Still, it's probably best at my place, isn't it? Wouldn't want anything to get awkward." She pronounced it as carefully as she could, and then laughed.

Carol couldn't help joining in. She reached across the front seat to smack Doug's shoulder. "Come on," she said. "You heard her."

"All right, ladies," Doug said, shaking his head. The address Elizabeth gave him wasn't far from the bar they'd ended up at, and before Carol quite knew what she was doing, Elizabeth was guiding them into an elevator up to her floor. She barely fumbled with her key, and Carol wondered if she was really as drunk as she'd first seemed. Carol only felt warm and happy, and when Doug wrapped his arm around her waist, she leaned into him, feeling smug that she'd arranged something he'd never done.

"Sitting room, kitchen, and the bedroom's in the back," Elizabeth said airily as she let them in, waving in the different directions before she dropped her keys on a table by the door. Carol turned to look around, but before she could get more than an impression, Elizabeth had taken her hand again, and was pulling her into a kiss.

Carol gasped, and Elizabeth brought a hand up to brush over her cheek, pushing her hair back. She half-heard Doug making some sound in the background, but all of a sudden, all her attention was taken up with Elizabeth's lips and Elizabeth's body. Oh, wow. Carol's eyes were closed and she wasn't sure when that had happened, and it turned out she hadn't needed to worry about never kissing a woman before, because Elizabeth obviously knew what she was doing. God, her lips were so soft. And warm. And smooth. Not even a hint of roughness, that Doug always had no matter how closely he'd shaved. Carol usually liked the taste of stubble on a man, but she'd never really tried _not_ burning her lips, and the difference was...not better, not worse, but _new_. She moaned and held out her hand. Doug took it at once, and Carol tugged him close. "Bedroom?" she said, when she'd gotten her breath back enough to speak.

"Mmn, yes," Elizabeth said. She exchanged a glance with Doug. "Was that to your liking?" she asked. Carol would have objected that Elizabeth hadn't checked with her, and blushed scarlet when she realized it must have been obvious how much she'd been enjoying herself.

"It was...something," Doug said, his voice a little rough, but withholding judgement.

"It certainly was." Elizabeth's smile looked dangerously promising, and Carol's jealousy flared up for a moment before she remembered that she'd just been kissing another woman. In front of Doug. After inviting her out for drinks. And that the honeyed pleasure in Elizabeth's tone was meant for her. "Well, come along then."

She led the way into the bedroom, turning on lights as she went. Carol held Doug's hand tightly as she followed her. "Do please yourselves," Elizabeth said, turning to face them once they were standing at the foot of her bed. "As I say, the last thing I want is to get in the way."

Doug looked skeptical, but Carol grabbed his face and tugged him into a proper kiss. She suddenly wanted reassurance, to know that she hadn't forgotten what kissing him was like, or that she loved kissing him. He tastes like beer and peanuts, and Carol sighed with relief when the prickles of his beard scraped across her lips just as they'd always done, sending sparks through her body. Doug held her waist and kissed her back, but Carol knew he wasn't paying her full attention. He was looking behind her, and when she broke the kiss to see why, it was to see Elizabeth watching them intently, carefully taking off her clothes and putting them away.

"Don't mind me," she said, with the sort of smirk that meant they were both supposed to start paying attention right the hell now.

Carol grinned at Doug, and took off her own coat. It was warmer in Elizabeth's apartment than she'd expected. Or maybe that was the booze. Or the kissing. All she knew was that it was easy to push off her sweater and gloves and kick away her shoes. As much as she knew Doug loved her, and thought she was beautiful, there was something even more exciting in seeing Elizabeth watch her undress. It had to be the frank, admiring look in her eyes. She only stopped when she'd gotten down to her bra and panties, unwilling to be the first one to get fully naked.

"Well, Doug?" Elizabeth said. "Are you going to join us?"

"I guess you leave me no choice," Doug said. He sounded reluctant, but his smile crinkled up his eyes, and Carol knew he was getting into it. He got his jacket off and pulled his shirt over his head, dropping it to the floor in one easy motion.

"Oh my," Elizabeth said. She'd stepped close behind Carol, and she kissed her again, this time along her neck. "Aren't you the lucky one?" she murmured into Carol's skin, as they both watched Doug shedding his clothes.

"Eh, he's all right," Carol said with a laugh. She rested her hands on Elizabeth's at her waist. When Doug had gotten down to his boxer shorts, Carol reached her arms out to him, pulling him close and kissing him eagerly.

God, she'd never felt like this before in her life. And it wasn't anything to do with being drunk. She could feel Doug's chest pressed against her breasts, Elizabeth's arms between them, and both of them were kissing her. She moaned, not altogether aware that it was her voice, only knowing that it felt amazing to have two mouths trailing over her skin. Strange, too, to feel Elizabeth's nipples brushing her back, and the cradle of Elizabeth's hips against her ass, compared with the hot, familiar feel of Doug's broad shoulders under her hands and the first feel of his erection against her thigh.

Carol tried to stumble them towards the bed, only because it seemed like her legs weren't going to keep her up much longer. Elizabeth seemed to have the same idea, and pretty soon all three of them were tumbling down on the mattress. Carol smiled at Doug and kissed the tip of his nose, before she turned back to Elizabeth. She had no idea how to ask for more, but she trusted Elizabeth to want something, and reach for it.

She wasn't wrong. Elizabeth pulled a condom out of somewhere--the night table?--and waved it at them. "I don't suppose you'd mind...?" she asked.

Carol blinked, her mouth falling open, before she realized that Elizabeth was asking her permission to--to use Doug as her sex toy. She giggled, burying her face in her hands.

"You don't mind?" Elizabeth asked.

"A bit late for that," Carol said.

"Hey," Doug said. "Do I get a say in this?"

"Aw, I'm sorry, Doug," Carol said, kissing him. "Of course we'd love your input."

"I'll say," Elizabeth said, and Carol laughed harder. "Unless you'd rather get significantly more adventurous..."

"No," Doug said quickly. "No, this is adventurous enough."

"In that case," Elizabeth said. "Mm, Carol, perhaps you could help me." She gave a significant look at Doug's boxers, and Carol nodded through her giggles. They both worked their way down the bed, their eyes meeting across the significant tenting in Doug's shorts.

"Don't worry, Doug," Carol said, getting control of her laughter. "I'm sure this will do great things for your cred."

"Lie back," Elizabeth suggested, "and think of England."

Together, they pulled his shorts down. Carol kissed Doug's hip, and reached for his erection with one hand, stroking him easily. It was amazing to watch Elizabeth go further, without needing any encouragement. She closed her mouth over the tip of Doug's penis, and Carol watched, weirdly breathless, as Elizabeth's lips sank further down. God, that couldn't possibly be a turn-on, and yet it was. Carol couldn't stop watching, her body flushing with sudden heat, as she kept stroking. Elizabeth bent her head lower, and the sight of her mouth around Doug's erection made Carol tingle in a way she'd never expected. A moment later Elizabeth pulled up, with a warm smile on her face. "Lovely," she said.

"Yeah," Doug said, his voice tight. "Wonderful. Really. If anyone would like to move things along..."

Carol opened the condom packet and pinched the tip, rolling the latex on to him. If watching Elizabeth use her mouth on Doug was that hot, then maybe watching the rest would be the same.

"Doug, do you ever go down on Carol?" Elizabeth asked, completely matter of factly, with a conspirator's grin at Carol.

Doug pushed up on his elbows, scowling, despite his rather impressive erection. "What kind of question is that, may I ask?"

"A very important one," Elizabeth said. "Since I was supposing that you'd hardly want to leave Carol out while you're fucking me."

Even Doug looked taken aback, but Carol met Doug's eyes quickly, before blushing so hard it had to be visible over her entire body. "Yeah," Doug said, with his warm smile that was for Carol alone. "Of course."

"Good," Elizabeth said, satisfied. "Then all that remains is..." And she started pulling off her underwear.

Carol raised her eyebrows, and, a little more hesitantly, took off her panties and unhooked her bra. When Elizabeth moved to straddle Doug's hips, Carol did the same at his head, looking down at him long enough to see him wink at her. She didn't know if she could really go through with this. As much as she loved Doug going down on her, she didn't know if she could let go enough to enjoy it, face to face with Elizabeth.

She didn't have to worry for long. Elizabeth's eyes fluttered closed, and she sighed softly as she lowered herself onto Doug's erection. "Oh, yes, there..." she said softly. When she opened her eyes, they were darker than before, and she reached immediately for Carol. Without thinking about it, Carol leaned forward to kiss her. She could feel Doug's hands stroking across her ass, his stubble-rough cheeks brushing across her inner thighs. All the warmth, all the neediness, flooded her body, and Carol kissed Elizabeth back, opening her mouth and exploring.

She gasped when Doug's tongue first touched her. Elizabeth was already moving in smooth thrusts, and Carol had to wrap her arms around her in order to keep kissing her. God, she wanted to. It was amazing; Doug's mouth working between her legs, and then-- _ohh_ \--Elizabeth's fingers joining his tongue. The kiss, the touches, were firm and Carol moved against them, needing more. Elizabeth's first tentative strokes got bolder, until she was circling Carol's clit, while Doug pushed his tongue deep inside. "Oh, my God," Carol said.

Elizabeth gasped. "I...quite agree," she said, starting to move faster. Carol watched for a moment, seeing Elizabeth's breasts swaying, her legs tensing as she moved over Doug's erection, before she realized she didn't _just_ have to watch. Hesitantly, she brought her hands up and cupped Elizabeth's breasts, feeling her nipples against her palms.

"Carol," Elizabeth said. "Yes, there--touch me."

Doug paused, lifting his head as much as he could. "Everything all right up there?"

"Perfectly," Elizabeth said. "If you'd be so kind as to continue..."

Carol grinned at her. "You doing okay, Doug?"

"Oh," he said, his voice taut, "just peachy." He thrust up, and groaned harshly.

"Then like she says," Carol told him. "Continue."

He did, with a vengeance. Carol could hardly concentrate to touch Elizabeth, feeling the places that made her squirm. God, it was all getting to be too much. Doug was wriggling beneath her, mouth and hands both working, and Elizabeth was joining him, until Carol couldn't breathe, it felt so good. She forgot about what she was doing, who she was kissing, distinguishing between Doug's and Elizabeth's fingers between her legs, and gave up anything except wanting. "Ohh, God," she said. "Yeah, yeah, please, Doug..."

It was Elizabeth who was kissing her when she came, and Carol kissed her back as hard as she could, feeling so much, so overwhelmed. Her thighs were shaking when she was done, and she couldn't keep kneeling over Doug's face. She moved beside him, lying along his body. His lips tasted like her, and he was moaning constantly now, as Elizabeth increased her pace. Carol kissed him, deep, and heard Elizabeth cry out a moment later. Their bodies moved quickly, in unison, until Doug groaned sharply. Carol stroked his face, his chest, and kissed him again. A moment later, Elizabeth collapsed on his other side, and smiled at both of them.

"Well," she said. "That was lovely."

Carol smiled back absently, feeling too contented to move. All she wanted was to curl up around Doug and fall asleep. This was the moment she loved best, when they were both spent, and she could kiss his skin and taste his sweat. She loved being close to him like this.

"However," Elizabeth said. "I do have a rather early surgery tomorrow..."

Doug laughed, and wriggled back against the pillow until he was sitting up. He reached for the condom and pulled it off. "Somewhere I can put this?" he asked.

"The bin's just beside the bed," Elizabeth said. She stood up and stalked to her closet, naked, where she pulled out a robe and slipped it on. "Thank you both so much," she said. "I had a wonderful time."

Carol grinned at Doug. The message was pretty clear. She forced herself to get up and start reaching for her clothes. At least it was all simple stuff, jeans and a sweater, and they hadn't flung their underwear so far that it was impossible to retrieve.

A few moments later, Elizabeth showed them to the door. Carol almost felt like they should be assuring each other they'd do this again soon, but it seemed like no one was quite enough of a hypocrite to suggest it. Elizabeth was right, it was wonderful, but the idea of doing this again felt uncomfortably like sharing. A threeway hadn't really erased Carol's faint jealousy, and maybe that was for the best. She loved Doug, and as much fun as tonight had been, she didn't feel like sharing him.

She took his hand as they rode down the elevator and then headed for his car. "Is this always what it's like?" she asked.

"Is this what what's like?" Doug asked. Even if it hadn't been his idea, there was a smug grin playing around his mouth, and Carol knew he'd never get tired of reminding her that she'd been the one to drag him into bed with another woman.

"You know," she said, hugging him tightly. "The walk of shame."

Doug burst out laughing. "The walk of shame?"

"Yeah." Carol smacked his shoulder. He'd been the one to sneak out of her house early all those mornings. He should know. "I'm being serious."

"No," he said. "This is not the walk of shame. This is the walk home with the woman I love."

Carol smiled and tucked herself closer under his arm. "That's more like it," she said, and kissed him soundly before he drove them home.


End file.
